Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, I grew up in the family of readers and survivors. For the most part, our lives were governed by a seemingly endless war, one that we thought would be over within days and stretched to 25 years. The classics ( Dostoevsky, Somerset Maugham, Hemingway, Maria Remarque, Steinbeck to name a few) were my virtual escape from constant threat, no electricity and water, incarceration and downright terror. At the time the world, by and large, was at peace and the lack of 24-hour news coverage meant that t more...
